Crewe coaches excited by Tottenham's Barnard

"I saw him play a few times at the end of last season, including a Spurs reserve game at Aston Villa. He ran about and had a lovely touch and scored a terrific goal with the outside of his boot from outside the box," recalled Holland to The Sentinel.

"Since then I have been speaking to one or two of my friends at Tottenham to check on his availability and while it has taken a while he has finally arrived.

"And I think on Saturday he showed everything that I thought and hoped he had.

"You have to remember he has also been injured a little bit and hopefully he will get stronger, quicker and last the game better.

"What we have to do is try and play to his feet to make him more effective."